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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Gateway Drug: New Blog On The Block

St. Louis D.I.Y. enthusiast Luc Michalski has a brand new hustle. Known as co-founder of Mixtape Club and for his work in bands like Sack Lunch, God Fodder, and King Kong Magnetics, Michalski's latest contribution to the D.I.Y. community spans a variety of mediums. Enter Gateway Drug, a blog/zine/mixtape curated by Michalski in an effort to bring together a community that is often governed by genre, yet operates within the same D.I.Y. ethos.

"Gateway Drug is a project with the ultimate (lofty) goal of connecting all of St. Louis' huge array of D.I.Y. music." Says Michalski. "There are too many disconnected 'sub-scenes' that are good and doing things for the same reasons to not have a massive collective of bands/artists."

Since its inception in May of this year, Gateway Drug has already published two issues, receiving much acclaim from many pockets of the local D.I.Y. community. Featuring coverage of a wide variety of acts, don't be surprised if you find an interview with Glass Teeth's Jeff Robtoy next to a piece on local hip hop bass head Less. "Our town is always full of people pushing boundaries and making music." Says Michalski. "I'd just like our D.I.Y. acts at the very least to be aware of and respect each other."

Bridging the gap between digital media and print, the Gateway Drug blog provides up-to-date information/resources, supplementing the print edition's focus on journalistic pieces. Online, you can find everything from show reviews and photos to show listings and artist spotlights. For the tangible print copy, the zine offers interviews, rants, and bike tips. In addition, each zine comes with a mixtape featuring both released and unreleased tracks from local artists in the D.I.Y. community.

If all of these things weren't enough, Michalski also curates a live showcase/zine release in order to bring this new project to life. Featuring bands like Goat Bris, O Fool, and Folsom Beat, each act in the line-up has appeared in the zine, blog, and/or mixtape. With two shows already under his belt, you can expect another soon with the upcoming release of GWD #3.

Gateway Drug can be purchased from Luc Michalski or through Apop Records.